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Calhoun County, Illinois
Calhoun County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2000 census, the population is 5,084, and the population was 5,163 at the 2005 unofficial census. The county seat is Hardin, and the county is home to the Center for American Archeology, in Kampsville. Calhoun County was organized in 1825, and was named for John C. Calhoun, Vice President of the United States, and proponent of States' rights. It is Part of The St. Louis Metropolitan area. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 735 km² (284 sq mi). 657 km² (254 sq mi) of it is land and 77 km² (30 sq mi) of it (10.53%) is water. Calhoun County is a narrow finger of mostly high ground located between the Mississippi River and the Illinois River. It is serviced by two state operated free ferry boats crossing the Illinois River (the Brussels Ferry and the Kampsville ferry) and two privately operated toll ferry boats crossing the Mississippi River into Missouri (the Winfield ferry and the Golden Eagle ferry). There is also one bridge that spans the Illinois River at Hardin as well as land routes to the north into bordering Pike County. The county had many prosperous farms and orchards at a time when transportation was mainly by river. It is very popular with sight seers in the fall due to the natural beauty of the Illinois River valley and its proximity to the Great River Road. Calhoun county was added to St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2003 along with Bond and Macoupin counties in Illinois, and in Missouri, Washington County. Adjacent Counties *Greene County - northeast *Jersey County - east *St. Charles County - south *Lincoln County - west *Pike County - northwest *Pike County - northwest Demographics As of the census2 of 2000, there were 5,084 people, 2,046 households, and 1,438 families residing in the county. The population density was 8/km² (20/sq mi). There were 2,681 housing units at an average density of 4/km² (11/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 98.80% White, 0.04% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.51% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,046 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.80% were married couples living together, 5.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.70% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county the population was spread out with 22.90% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 25.90% from 25 to 44, 24.40% from 45 to 64, and 19.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 100.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $34,375, and the median income for a family was $43,107. Males had a median income of $32,281 versus $20,943 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,785. About 7.30% of families and 9.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.10% of those under age 18 and 9.80% of those age 65 or over. Cities and towns *Batchtown *Brussels *Hamburg *Hardin *Kampsville Census designated places *Beechville *Belleview *Deer Plain *Gilead *Golden Eagle *Meppen *Michael *Mozier External links *Illinois Genealogy Trails: Calhoun County, Illinois *History of Calhoun County, Illinois *Calhoun County Unit 40 Category:Calhoun County, Illinois Category:Counties of Illinois